"Here, joined in death, th' observer sees Plato and Alcibiades;
A mixture of the grave and funny, A famous dish of Salmagundi."
Allan M'Gregor! from afar
I see him, midst the ranks of war, That all around are rising fast
From slumbers that may be their last; I know him by his Highland plaid, Long borne in foray and in raid,
His scarf, all splashed with dust and gore, His nodding plume, and broad claymore; I know him by that eagle eye, Where foemen read their destiny;
I know him by that iron brow
That frowns not, burns not, quails not, now, Though life and death are with the ray That redly dawns upon to-day.
Woe to the wretch whose single might Copes with dark Allan in the fight; He knows not mercy-knows not fear; The pibroch has to Allan's ear A clearer and a sweeter note Than mellow strains that blithely float From lyre or lute, in courtly throng, Where Beauty smiles upon the song. Of artful wiles against his foe Nothing he knows, or cares to know;
Far less he recks of polished arts, The batteries in the siege of hearts. And hence the minions of the ton, While fair and foolish dames look on, Laugh at Old Allan's awkward bow, His stern address, and haughty brow. Laugh they?-when sounds the hollow drum, And banded legions onward come,
And life is won by ready sword,
By strength to strike, and skill to ward, Those tongues, so brave in woman's war, Those cheeks, unstained by scratch or scar, Shall owe their safety in the fight
To hoary Allan's arm of might.
Close to the Clansman's side is seen Dame Fortune's soldier, James M'Lean. I know him well-no novice he In warfare's murderous theory; Amidst the battle's various sound, While bullets flew like hail around, M'Lean was born; in scenes like this He passed his earliest hours of bliss; Cradled in war, the fearless child
Looked on the scene of blood, and smiled;
Toyed with the sabre of the Blues Long ere he knew its hellish use; His little fingers loved to feel
The bayonet's bright point of steel,
Or made his father's helmet ring
With beating up-" God save the King!" Those hours of youthful glee are fled; The thin gray hairs are on his head; Of youth's hot current naught remains Within the ancient warrior's veins. Yet, when he hears the battle-cry, His spirit beats as wild and high As on the day that saw him wield His virgin sword on battle-field;
The eve on which his comrades found him,
With England's colours wrapped around him, His face turned upwards, and his hand Still twined around his trusty brand,
As, spent with wounds, and weak with toil, He lay upon the bloody soil.
E'en now, though swift advancing years Might well decline this life of fears, Though the deep scars upon his breast Show claim to honourable rest,
He will not quit what time has made His joy, his habit, and his trade.
He envies not the peasant's lot,
His cheerful hearth, and humble cot; Encampments have to him become
As constant, and as dear a home.
Such are the hearts of steel, whom War Binds in their cradle to his car,
And leaves them in their latter day, With honour, medals, and half-pay, Burdened with all the cares of life, Repentance-asthma--and a wife.
And what am I, who thus can choose Such subject for so light a muse?
Who wake the smile, and weave the rhyme In such a scene, at such a time? Mary, whose pure and holy kiss Is still a cherished dream of bliss, When last I saw thy bright blue eye, And heard thy voice of melody, And felt thy timid, mild caress, I was all hope-all joyousness! We parted-and the morrow's sun- O God! my bliss was past and done;
The lover's hope, the husband's vow,
Where were they then? ah! where wert thou?
Mary! thou vision loved and wept, Long years have passed since thou hast slept, Removed from gaze of mortal eye,
The dreamless sleep of those that die: Long years! yet has not passed away The memory of that fatal day When all thy young and faded grace Before me lay in Death's embrace.
A throb of madness and of pain
Shot through my heart and through my brain; I felt it then, I feel it now,
Though time is stamped upon my brow; Though all my veins grow cold with age, And o'er my memory's fading page Oblivion draws her damning line, And blots all images-save thine.
Thou left'st me-and I did become An alien from my house and home; A phantom in life's busy dream; A bubble on misfortune's stream; Condemned through varying scenes to rove, With naught to hope, and naught to love; No inward motive, that can give
Or fear to die, or wish to live.
Away! away! Death rides the breeze! There is no time for thoughts like these; Hark! from the foeman's distant camp I hear their chargers' sullen tramp; On! valiant Britons, to the fight! On! for St. George, and England's right! Green be the laurel-bright the meed, Of those that shine in martial deed! Short be the pang-swift pass the breath, Of those that die a Soldier's death.
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